(Bloomberg) -- China poses a “deadly” threat to the UK, the former NATO secretary-general appointed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to lead a strategic review of Britain’s defense posture said.
“We’re confronted by a deadly quartet of nations increasingly working together,” George Robertson told journalists as he launched the review, remarks confirmed by the Ministry of Defence. He named Russia, China, Iran and North Korea as posing lethal threats to the UK.
Robertson’s remarks are important because the review he’s leading will inform the direction of the new Labour government’s defense policy. The document will be published in early 2025, the MoD said, setting out a road map for when the UK will meet Starmer’s target of spending 2.5% of its gross domestic product on defense.
His language toward Beijing is stronger than was used by Rishi Sunak’s previous Conservative administration, which described China as an “epoch-defining challenge.” In May, British officials accused China of being behind a cyber-attack on the UK’s Ministry of Defense, an allegation Beijing denied.
Robertson, who led the transatlantic alliance from 1999 to 2003 and previously served as Tony Blair’s defense secretary. will run the new government’s defense review alongside former US presidential adviser and Russia expert Fiona Hill and Richard Barrons, the former commander of the UK’s Joint Forces Command, its strategic command center.
Defense has become an early test of Starmer’s premiership, as he seeks to project himself on the world stage as a strong progressive leader in the face of a populist surge across Europe and the possibility of another Donald Trump presidency in the US, while contending with members of his own governing Labour Party who want public spending to be focused on other domestic problems such as welfare.
During the election campaign, the Conservatives sought to portray Labour as week on defense by committing to reach the 2.5% GDP goal by 2030 and challenging their political opponents to do likewise. But so far Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healey have declined to put a date on that target, blaming stretched public finances.
The UK is one of the bigger defense spenders in NATO and has been a key armer of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. However, its military has faced years of underfunding, leading former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to describe its armed forces as “hollowed out.”
“Our armed forces need to be better ready to fight, more integrated and more innovative,” said Healey. “We need clearer accountability, faster delivery, less waste and better value for money.”
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